By Mackenzie Clark
A report of rape on campus has since been declared unfounded, but the importance of knowledge on how to handle such a situation will always persist.
The original police report, filed Feb. 29, stated that a rape occurred in a GYM locker room. The caller identified himself as the victim’s father, and said that the victim knew the attacker. The incident did not involve students of the college.
Following investigation, the report has been declared unfounded.
“Occasionally, [campus police] will receive a complaint that is determined through investigation to be false or baseless,” said Scott Wargin, campus police officer. “In other words, no crime occurred. If the investigation shows that no offense occurred nor was attempted, procedures dictate that the reported offense must be classified as ‘Unfounded.’”
Dennis Day, vice president, Student Success/Engagement, said there was no evidence that any criminal activity occurred.
“It has been fully investigated by the campus police,” Day said. “All parties have been interviewed and we have a determination that there was no criminal activity that occurred on campus or near campus associated with this event.”
Terry Calaway, college president, said that the college takes every report of a sexual assault very seriously.
“We will investigate all of those reports to the fullest extent we are allowed by law, and if we find there is evidence to support it, we turn it over to the district attorney, who has been a great partner in helping us deal with situations where we do find evidence to support it,” he said. “In this case, I think we found evidence clearly the opposite way.”
Most importantly, in the wake of this event, all students should know how to defend themselves in the event of an attack.
Stephen Taylor, adjunct professor of athletics, said the number one thing he teaches in his self-defense class is how to fall correctly.
“If it’s truly an assault, the objective of the attacker is typically to first of all surprise the victim, take them to the ground, and knock them unconscious, or at least into submission as quickly as possible,” he said. “[…] If you want to put it from a football perspective – the quarterback gets sacked, he’s ok when he hits the ground, but then that head hits the ground, and even with a helmet on he’s not sure what planet he’s on. If you can avoid that head contact with the ground and avoid that concussion, you have a chance to fight back.”
Bear in mind, however, that if you do decide to fight back, it will most likely escalate the situation. Taylor said you must be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done: biting, eye gouging, throat shots, and joint shots.
Taylor cited the book “Tough Target” by former Chicago police detective J.J. Bittenbinder. Bittenbinder shares the story of a woman who was attacked in the middle of the night and dragged the would-be rapist out of her house by his genitals.
“She had a plan,” Taylor said. “She was willing to do whatever it took, and she succeeded. And whenever I bring that up in this self-defense class, some of the women get a little concerned. They don’t know if they have the mental toughness to do whatever it takes to get the job done, so you always try to caution them that if they’re gonna fight back, they’re probably gonna escalate the situation.”
Taylor also said that no matter what, you do not let your attacker take you to a secondary location. Never get into a car or let an attacker lead you down an ally, even if he or she is armed.
He said that people who are not paying attention to their surroundings are more likely to look like easy targets for criminals. Another way to avoid attack is to use a whistle, scream ‘Fire,’ or do whatever it takes to make noise.
He emphasized the importance of what happens after something like this occurs.
“You cannot blame yourself, and you have to report it, because if you don’t it will eat you up inside,” Taylor said. “I have seen it happen.”
Contact Mackenzie Clark, editor-in-chief, at mclark68@jccc.edu.
Other resources:
Campus Police Emergency Line: 913-469-8500 ext. 4111; non-emergency, 4112
Campus police website: http://www.jccc.edu/administration/police/index.html
Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA): http://www.mocsa.org/
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN): https://ohl.rainn.org/online.rainn.org/